Game of amusement and education



y 1970 J; TERWILLEGER 3,521,333

GAME OF AMUSEMENT AND EDUCATION Filed Jan. 29, 1968 23 I5 Oi l6 ri F 11 j JAMES D. TERWILLEGER INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,521,383 GAME OF AMUSEMENT AND EDUCATION James D. Terwilleger, 4580 Singlestrand Ave. SE., Salem, Oreg. 97302 Filed Jan. 29, 1968, Ser. No. 701,303 Int. Cl. G09b 19/02 US. Cl. 3531 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An educational game wherein each of a number of players is provided with a game board for calculated placement and arrangement thereon of numbered playing pieces primarily intended for solving problems of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. The playing pieces with their numbers concealed are drawn by each player from a container for manipulation on his respective game board to arrive at the answers to the problems as quickly as possible in order to win the game.

This invention relates to improvements in an educational device having the characteristics of a game board with which each player is provided and in turn has access to numbered playing pieces whose values are concealed until selected at random and examined by the player.

The object of the invention are:

To provide a game board divided into areas of deposit for playing pieces of different numerical values for problem arrangement on the board by a player in a manner more expeditiously than his opponents to arrive at the correct answers to the problems.

To provide a game board which is advantageously and inexpensively made of molded plastic.

To provide a quantity of playing pieces for withdrawal from a tray-like container upon which they normally roll into a position where their numerical value is concealed or hidden from the game participants.

To provide a game board wherein the areas of deposit are provided with transversely and longitudinally aligned holding recesses for the playing pieces with their numerical values clearly visible to the players.

To provide a game board having the characteristics of an educational device in that the boards may be used for solving or arriving at the answers to various problems of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof and in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the game board made in accordance with my invention:

FIG. 2 is a bottom end elevational view of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of FIG. 1 with a fragment of one side wall broken away.

FIG. 4 is an end elevational view of a typical playing piece.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the same playing piece with its numerical value exposed.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary plan view of a tray or the like containing the playing pieces in the position shown in FIG. 4 with their numerical value concealed.

FIGS. 7, 8, 9 and 10 are diagrammatic views of the identical game boards with the playing pieces arranged thereon to represent, respectively, problems of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, and

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary sectional view taken approximately along the line 1111 of FIG. 1.

3,521,383 Patented July 21, 1970 With continuing reference to the drawing wherein like reference numerals designate like parts, it will be noted in FIGS. 1-3 that the face 1 or playing field of the game board is mold-united with side walls 2 and 3 in an upwardly and rearwardly inclined position, as shown.

The face of the board is divided by transverse ribs 4, 5, 6 and 7 into areas of deposit, indicated generally and respectively at 8, 9, 10 and 11 for the playing pieces and an area 12 for placement of those pieces representing the players answers to problems arranged by him on the board. Each deposit area is provided with transversely aligned recesses 15 in longitudinal alignment with those in the other deposit areas and with those indicated at 16 in the answer area 12.

The boards may be used for any of the games above mentioned wherein the answer area 12 is distinguished from the areas of deposit by the lowermost rib 7 and a vertical line 20, both of which may be of any desired color in contrast to the coloring of the board. The line 20 may be disregarded when playing games of addition, subtraction and multiplication, but is useful in defining an area 21 for the divisor in a game of division where the remainder of the area may be used for numbers of a dividend and the area directly above ribs 7 for the quotient.

All of the playing pieces are structurally identical, and as best illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, are preferably made of doweling of a length slightly less than the retaining recesses on the fact of the board for easy gripping. The pieces are truncated as at 23 to provide a fiat face for an exemplary number 4, as shown in FIG. 5, and so that, regardless of how the pieces are tossed into a tray-like container 27, shaking the tray will cause the pieces, due to their rounded body portion, to roll over into the facedown position shown in FIG. 4 to conceal their face value.

In order to start the contest the game to be played may be determined by any suitable chance device, such as a spinning needle with a background divided into quadrants representing the four games. If the needle stops on addition, that will determine the game (FIG. 7) to be played by all the contestants. Following this, each player draws three playing pieces at random from the tray 27 and manipulates them into the recesses of the board for vertical addition in the units column 28.

The same applies to manipulation of the playing pieces into the units column 28 for the games of subtraction and multiplication.

In problems of division the playing piece, or pieces, representing the divisor is placed in the space 21 of area 12, the pieces representing the dividend in the space to the right of line 20, and those representing the quotient in deposit area 11.

The foregoing is merely indicative of a great variety of problems that can be formulated by the players judgement in arranging the playing pieces in the deposit areas as problems whose answers can be arrived at in the shortest possible time.

While I have shown a particular form of embodiment of my invention, I am aware that many minor changes therein will readily suggest themselves to others skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A game comprising a board and a plurality of playing pieces of different numerical values,

said board divided by transverse ribs into areas of selective deposit of said playing pieces in an arrangement of predetermined mathematical problems, said area comprising recesses,

said recesses arranged in vertical and transverse align- References Cited 7 ment on the face of the board, UNITED STATES PATENTS each recess havmg a round bottom wall extending from rib to rib, 1,257,432 2/1918 Wetzel 273157 said playing pieces being of generally round section for 5 3077677 2/1963 Malkm et holding placement within said recessed areas of de- FOREIGN PATENTS posit and having a flat top surface carrying its respec- 1,232,369 4/1960 France.

tive numerical value, and

said playing pieces being of a length less than that EUGENE C ADOZIO Primary Examiner of the recesses to provide spaces for gripping the play- 10 ing Pieces individually W. H. GRIEB, Assistant Examiner 

